Posts Tagged ‘Andre the Giant’

When I heard that my friend and the Voice of the Wrestling at the ChaseLarry Matsyik was going to be featured as a special guest at Hey Guys Comedy Club I knew I had to be there. The Midwest is very fortunate to have Matysik accessible to fans to still hear stories firsthand of legendary matches and the top stars to ever enter the ring from the days of the territories.

The event was hosted by wrestling historian and comedian Patrick Brandmeyer, whom just so happens to be a longtime supporter of pro wrestling in the Midwest. An added bonus for fans was the fact that WWE Hall of Famer, Cowboy Bob Orton was to be on hand to see his son Nathan Orton open up with hilarious stand-up comedy. I was pleas able to meet the son of Sam Muchnick, Dr. Richard Muchnick, who came to enjoy the show with wrestling referee Jay King. I was surprised to learn that he was a Doctor and had spent time stitching up the cuts of the stars of the Chase and the Kiel Auditorium.

Matysik has teamed up with his friend Herb Simmons to promote and announce for Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling in East Carondelet, Illinois while also providing his knowledge and advice to aspiring wrestling for the past four decades. So it was only fitting that Simmons was on stage with Matysik to interview him as the two friends went down memory lane on topics such as Sam Muchnick, Vince McMahon , Mickey Garagiola, Bruno Sammartino, Andre the Giant, Bruiser Brody, Harley Race, Pat O’Connor, the difference between pro wrestling from the past and today.

Larry was also surprised on the night thanks to special guest St. Clair County Chairman Mark Kern who proclaimed the day as Larry Matysik Day along with a plaque.

At the end of the night Larry was more than happy to take photos, sign autographs and thank his fans and friends for coming on out. I hope that in the future that there will be another night for the fans and myself to enjoy a night with Larry Matysik.

Hey Guys Comedy Club

Nothing Compares to the Energy of a Live Comedy Performance!

Forget what you think you know about comedy clubs, because Hey Guys Comedy Club, the only dedicated live comedy venue in MetroEast St. Louis, is like no other you’ve ever seen! A first class venue with no obstructed views of the stage, hilarious comedians week in and week out, full bar service with a great selection of beers and specialty cocktails, a variety of delicious food options prepared by our food service partners, FlamentCo’s The Place, and friendly attentive service, all at reasonable prices make Hey Guys Comedy the perfect spot for date night or an evening with friends! And, if you’ve never been to a live comedy show, you will find there is nothing on cable TV or the internet to compare with the energy of a live performance!

Located in Fairview Heights, IL, just 15 minutes from downtown St. Louis and minutes from Belleville, O’Fallon, Columbia, Collinsville, and Scott AFB, Hey Guys Comedy features nationally touring comics headlining our Friday and Saturday shows, plus a variety of local comedy showcases, open mic nights and other events during the week. Go to our calendar page for a complete schedule of show dates, times and comics! Hey Guys Comedy’s Open Mic nights on selected Thursdays offer local comedians an opportunity to hone their craft, and comedy fans the chance to enjoy perhaps the next future comic star! Hey Guys Comedy also makes the club available for charity, group and corporate events, and offers sponsorship opportunities for local businesses.

Hey Guys Comedy is easily accessible off Illinois Route 159, just one mile south of St. Clair Square shopping center, with plenty of parking right out front. Guests are seated on a first-come, first-serve basis from the front of the club to the back, which enhances everyone’s enjoyment of the show. Every seat in the house is a great one!

In partnership with FlamentCo’s The Place, Hey Guys Comedy offers a great menu of hot and cold food items including chicken wings, sliders, nachos, salads and more! And best of all…there is NO DRINK MINIMUM at Hey Guys Comedy! In accordance with Illinois law, Hey Guys Comedy is a non-smoking venue.

Tickets are available online (or by calling 1800-514-etix) up to one hour before each show time, or at the door up until show time, based on availability. The box office opens 1 hour before show time. Doors and bar open one hour before the first show of the night, and generally 15-30 minutes before the second show.

For more info, check out our FAQs!

Hey Guys Comedy at 5225 N. Illinois St. (Rte. 159) in Fairview Heights, IL…Metro East’s home for laughs and great times!

This week I show you how I did my new portrait of Andre the Giant! And! New paintings of Brad Maddox, Cody Rhodes, Austin Aries, Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross, and Fandango! Then I give you the scoop on my new paintings up at WWE Auctions! Plus! The return of El Chuparobra!

Missouri Wrestling Revival was recently in Caseyville Illinois for HVW at the VFW for a great night of wrestling. During the intermission we had the pleasure to present Dave Hebner with a MWR Lifetime Achievement award along with our good friend Nick Ridenour.

Dave Hebner along with his brother current TNA referee Earl is known around the world, as the two had been involved arguably with the biggest angle in the 80’s when the evil Hebner cost Hulk Hogan the WWE title to Andre the Giant.

Who can forget the Montreal Screwjob? The Hebners once again cost another champion the title as Bret Hart was the victim this time as Shawn Michaels took home the belt.

Dave Hebner has refereed around the world, on the biggest stage including Wrestlemania, as well as TNA.

Photo Credit Mike Van Hoogstraat

Hebner has spent a considerable amount of time in St Louis supporting a Pro Wrestling shop in the past, made appearances with promotions MMWA-SICW while taking the time with each and every fan he has came across.

The Hebners are truly worthy of a WWE Hall of Fame induction but till then we are proud to present Dave Hebner with a MWR Lifetime Achievement award.

Dave had his head worked out trying to maintain order between the world Champ and then NWA Central States Champ. *Photo Credit Mike Van Hoogstraat*

Dave also took part in refereeing two of the biggest matches that night when Mark Sterling took on former AWA Champion Larry Zbyszko while Santana G returned home to St Louis to meet the former MWR Female Wrestler of the Year Stacey O’ Brien.

Stacey O and Santana G met for the first time ever but not the last we hope.*Photo Credit Mike Van Hoogstraat*

We are looking forward to presenting Mike Chapman with his MWR 2010 Lifetime Achievement award later this summer.

Big Rick Fuller *Photo Credit Mike Van Hoogstraat*

MWR was also very proud to have “BIG” Rick Fuller wear the MWR Shirt during his match with Alexandre Rudolph and later in the night winning the battle Royal featuring stars around the Midwest last eliminating Brandon Espinosa.

You may have seen Rick Fuller in a cameo appearance in the great movie “The Fighter” based on the Life story of boxer “Irish” Mickey Ward and his trainer brother Dick Eklund, chronicling the brothers’ early days on the rough streets of Lowell, Massachusetts through Eklund’s battle with drugs and Ward’s eventual world championship in London. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, and , Amy Adams look for Fuller as a bouncer that tries to stop Mark Wahlberg character Mickey Ward.

Fuller a former WCW and star of Japan made a rare appearance in the Midwest for a great night of wrestling action.

When you say the name Larry Matysik to a wrestling fan in St Louis, you get the same warm feeling that St Louis Cardinal fans get when you mention former ST Louis Cardinal announcer Jack Buck. Admiration and great memories quickly come to mind.

Both men were the fans best friend when it came to providing them with the much desired information about what was transpiring in the sport that they were into.

Buck was the man to hear the play by play of Cardinal greats such as Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith, Willie McGee and Bruce Sutter. Fans watched as Matysik called play by play in matches that saw “King Kong” Brody, Dick “the Bruiser, Lou Thesz, Gene Kiniski, Pat O’Connor, Harley Race, Buddy Rogers and many more in action.

St Louis promoter Sam Muchnick was wise enough to know that for wrestling to succeed in St Louis, a sports town that he would have to bring the same respectability that the Cardinals brought to the city.

Wrestling at the Chase

A main piece to the puzzle would be the Voice of Wrestling at the Chase. The television program which broadcast from 1959 to 1983 from the majestic Chase Hotel would be the face of wrestling in St Louis.

Larry interviewing David Von Erich after beating Harley Race

Matysik has been much more than a man calling the play by play of great matches in St Louis. At the young age of 16 in 1963, Muchnick hire Matysik and would be very supportive and helpful in the career that saw Matysik also man the publicist and office manager, as well as book the matches.

In 1984 he would begin working with Vince McMahon and then WWF (now WWE) till 1993.

Matysik has since gone on to write some of the must read books in the industry including

1) Wrestling at the Chase: The Inside Story of Sam Muchnick and the Legends of Professional Wrestling

Wrestling at the Chase is a fond, informative, amusing, and even poignant look at the who’s who of professional wrestling and legendary St. Louis promoter Sam Muchnick.
St. Louis was the capital, and Muchnick the ruler of professional wrestling, before Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment took over. What happened in St. Louis paved the way for today’s multi-billion-dollar sports entertainment industry. The centerpiece of this magical operation was “Wrestling at the Chase,” a television program which broadcast from 1959 to 1983 from the majestic Chase Hotel.

Larry Matysik was Muchnick’s protégé and longtime announcer for the television show. With an insider’s eye for detail and accuracy, he recalls funny and amazingly touching tales about the characters who created professional wrestling as we know it. Ric Flair, “King Kong” Brody, Dick “the Bruiser,” the Von Erichs, Lou Thesz, Gene Kiniski, Pat O’Connor, Johnny Valentine, Dick Murdoch, Harley Race, Buddy Rogers, Jack Brisco, and Andre the Giant are all prominently featured. So is Muchnick himself, the Damon Runyan of wrestling, a man who helped mould the bizarre business of circus and sport. The savage twists of the politics of wrestling are on display as well, particularly the changes that rocked the mat world during the early ’80s.

2) Drawing Heat the Hard Way

Thrilling but flawed, entertaining despite the swerves and double-crosses, captivating even when repugnant… professional wrestling has enjoyed the attention and loyalty of untold millions for nearly a century. How and why is precisely what Larry Matysik examines in his third book, Drawing Heat the Hard Way: How Wrestling Really Works.

Wrestlers have their own private language, and in the unique world of wrestling “drawing heat” is a very good thing: the successful generation of crowd reaction and fan excitement. The Hard Way? That’s both exactly what it sounds like and something no one in the industry plans for: a legitimate and unintentional wound suffered because something’s gone awry. In Drawing Heat the Hard Way, Matysik explains what it takes to win the hearts and minds of wrestling fans, and how, at times, mistakes, controversy and unexpected turns of events have damaged the reputation or forever changed the business he loves.

If anyone understands wrestling, the problem-child offspring of whatever “real” sport is, it’s Matysik. Drawing Heat the Hard Way takes on the way wrestling is booked or planned; analyzes the roles of wrestlers and announcers, and explores steroids as an industry and fan issue. It also considers wrestling’s power-brokers, from those who influence the business by reporting on it, like Dave Meltzer, to those who make the final decisions on what gets broadcast every week, like the omnipresent Vince McMahon, and even to those who influence the sport with their pocketbooks — the fans themselves.

At times humorous, occasionally heartbreaking, always insightful, Drawing Heat the Hard Way is ultimately an objective take on what it means to be a wrestling fan, from someone who knows the business inside and out.

3) Brody: The Triumph and Tragedy of Wrestling’s Rebel

The most unpredictable and charismatic grappler of all time? The brute that made brawling an art before the term “hardcore” was coined? The confrontational businessman who fought for every penny he felt he deserved?

“Bruiser” Brody had no peers when it came to blood and guts, controversy and independence. Most wrestling promoters portrayed their top talent as exactly that kind of free-spirited, take-no-guff personality. They didn’t mean it, though — which explains why so few would admit to respecting Brody even as they featured him time and again.
So why did they give him work? Simple. “Bruiser” Brody delivered the goods in the ring and at the box office.

In the 1970s and early 80s, Brody was one of the few performers, along with Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair, to be recognized as a national star. With his fiery personality, Brody also conquered the international market.

Nearly two decades after his murder in Puerto Rico, Brody: The Triumph and Tragedy of Wrestling’s Rebel delivers a complete portrait of Brody’s remarkable life. Co-authors Barbara Goodish, Brody’s widow, and Larry Matysik, a close friend, offer a first-time opportunity to truly understand one of the sport’s most complex and controversial human beings. Goodish’s account of her husband’s horrific murder and its aftermath is both heartbreaking and compelling, while Matysik’s insider knowledge of the business puts Brody’s place in wrestling history into perspective. With a foreword by WWE announcer Jim Ross, Brody offers readers the unvarnished truth about one of the greatest wrestling legends of all time.

4) An electronic book- From the Golden Era

This unique digital publication offers a complete record of every twist and turn, of every performer, of all the battles from television’s legendary Wrestling at the Chase, and every card presented at both the historic Kiel Auditorium and The Arena (Checkerdome) during the glory era of the St. Louis promotion.

Wrestling at the Chase announcer and St. Louis insider Larry Matysik adds background about the personalities, business, secrets, and politics to make this electronic book a revealing, in-depth account of three decades of wrestling’s golden era. Featuring everything from attendance figures, to booking strategies, to insights and NWA championship bouts, From the Golden Era: The St. Louis Wrestling Record Book is the once-in-a-lifetime document that every serious wrestling observer must have.

Matysik has also been instrumental in keeping the history of one of the highest rated wrestling television programs Wrestling at the Chase alive with Classic St Louis Wrestling, hosted by Matysik himself. In 2007. Matysik headed a team to bring to St Louis the St Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame.

He was joined in this effort by promoter Herb Simmons, webmaster Mitch Martsey, sports journalist Keith Schildroth, and longtime fan Nick Ridenour. The Hall of Fame was created to honor the role St. Louis played in helping to establish professional wrestling in North America. Today the hall can be seen at the historic South Broadway Athletic club.

In 2011 fans in St Louis will once again be able to hear the Voice himself call wrestling matches when he returns to TV on Sunday February 6, 2011 at 11:30 am and then rebroadcast on Sunday evening at 10:30pm on Charter Cable channel 8. The matches will be taped in East Carondelet Community Center on Saturday January 22nd.

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Photo Credit Mike Van Hoogstraat

We were thrilled and excited when Matysik agreed to accept the 2009 MWR Lifetime Achievement Award. Earlier this month at MMWA-SICW, MWR’S Dubray Tallman had the honor to present the plaque to a true gentleman and ambassador of pro wrestling, Larry Matysik

Once again, thank you so much for your positive contribution to pro wrestling Larry Matysik.

Please join us at MWR on January 1st when we will announce the recipient for the 2010 MWR Lifetime Achievement Award.

Missouri Wrestling Revival is proud to announce the newest addition to our trading card set – Mr. Late Nite. He is our first manager in the set and he has caused quite a bit of commotion in the Midwest wrestling scene since he came back to the business in 2009. The self proclaimed “Hollywood Super Agent” has gotten his fair share of jeers from the fans of Independent Hardcore Wrestling (IHW) and Pro Wrestling Epic (PWE), where he currently manages “The Future” Donovan Ruddick. Vests, ties, glasses, khakis, rolled up sleeves, and a sharp wit are all trademarks of this very talented up and coming manager.

We’d also like to take the time and give some respect to an often overlooked part of wrestling shows – the managers. A lot of our favorite memories involving big names in the wrestling industry wouldn’t have been possible without them. Who would have been the mouthpiece for Andre the Giant in his heated rivalry with Hulk Hogan if there was no Bobby Heenen? Who would have remembered the rivalries that the Midnight Express were involved in if it weren’t for the great ringside presence and promo work of Jim Cornette? Managers lend their gift of gab to performers who would rather let their wrestling do the talking. They have been an important part of this business for decades and we are honored to have one of wrestling’s most exciting new managers to our trading card set. We are sure that Mr. Late Nite will continue to deliver great promos and entertain fans wherever he goes with his unique brand of showmanship.

Mr. Late Nite can be seen on Pro Wrestling NEXT’s “Genesis” show on September 10 in Moline, IL and Independent Hardcore Wrestling’s show on September 11 in Waterloo, IL. On both shows he will managing “The Future” Donovan Ruddick.

Come out and support these two great companies and support managers in professional wrestling. Thank you very much and pick up one of these great trading cards today! Be sure to look up Mr. Late Nite on Facebook and join his fan page!